Romeo and Juliet and the Essence of Fate
- cleocuizon
- Oct 4, 2024
- 10 min read
Updated: Feb 9
Synopsis: The following analysis delves into the representation of fate in one of Shakespeare's beloved plays. With discovering its impact, the play demonstrates how such themes epitomize cultural aspects of his time, and contemporary culture that exemplifies the universal experience of fate transcending throughout generations of human history.
Written By: Cleo Cuizon
Date: Oct. 4, 2024
Table of Contents:
Significant events in life, such as giving birth or death, all transpire from certain issues that one cannot control. With the inability to manage these experiences, one may contemplate if they are under this mysterious spell called fate. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, fate is defined as “a power that some people believe causes and controls all events so that you cannot change or control the way things will happen” (Cambridge University Press, n.d.). William Shakespeare implements the idea of destiny in various genres of his plays. Even fate’s meaning during the Elizabethan era applies the same idea, where cultural beliefs teach society how an individual’s life is under the control of spiritual forces (Benson and Stock, 126). Being one of the most influential themes of his works, Shakespeare offers how this idea could influence the life of one of his beloved characters, Romeo and Juliet.
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet revolves around two lovers who live among the prestigious houses of the Capulets and Montagues. As the two houses maintain a history of hatred between each other, Romeo and Juliet face the odds against the fury of their family and inevitably fall in love. As the power of their destined encounter tests their faith for a happy ending, their union reaches a great misunderstanding, leading to a tragic conclusion (Romeo and Juliet from Folger Digital Texts.). An analysis between the theme and Romeo and Juliet’s story will demonstrate fate’s significant role in the beloved tale of two lovers towards their unexpected path to tragedy. Therefore, fate provides an enduring exemplar in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and modern society by offering an influential concept about facing one’s destined resolution.
Shakespeare & The Elizabethan Era:
The essence of fate in Romeo and Juliet derives from the realities of the Elizabethan era. One key aspect that correlates with the theme of the play pertains to religion. According to a source from Sonia Benson and Jennifer Stock, the Elizabethan social culture includes the importance of Christianity. The community believed in a life “in the set of the universe and fear chaos if the order of things- God’s design- was disrupted” (Besnson and Stock, 126). They believe that their lives institute on a social rank or class the universe decides and a punishment received if one attempts to defy their destiny (16). Along with supernatural beliefs to place an idea of fate’s controller, this aspect also applies in cultural traditions in Elizabethan society. According to a source by Michael Best, marriages and weddings were utilized to obtain property and alliance with higher statuses. Women have the expectations of betrothal to a wealthy man as soon as they are young (Best, n.d.). This correlates with Juliet’s arrangement with Paris. With this tradition to determine the union of two people, the chance to freely marry out of love is uncertain due to arranged marriages benefiting its family line. The cultural influence from this era interconnects fate’s definition in Shakespearean plays and the Elizabethan culture. With these aspects to consider, it provides details of how plays like Romeo and Juliet epitomizes the theme according to cultural aspects of Shakespeare’s time.
Besides the significant relation between Shakespeare’s time and the play, literary devices and elements also portray influential factors in the theme and story. One aspect includes symbolism. In several parts of the story, Romeo talks about the stars and how they embody a source that controls his future. Examples include Act 5 Scene 1, when he expresses his frustration after hearing Juliet’s death from Balthasar, “Is it e’en so?—Then I deny you, stars!—/Thou knowest my lodging.” (Shakespeare, 5.1.25-26). He indicates disbelief in the news about Juliet that he expresses his denial to not Balthasar, but the stars. Another example includes Act 5 Scene 3, where Romeo believes Juliet’s fake death as he cries in anger, “O, here/ Will I set up my everlasting rest/And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars/From this world-wearied flesh!” (Shakespeare, 5.3.109-111).
Romeo’s frustration in the first example now escalates into cursing the stars for supposedly taking the life of his beloved. This concept provides the idea of symbolism by using an item in the universe to serve as this embodiment of the theme. It also correlates with the perspective of destiny during the Elizabethan era, where the universe decides a person’s beginning and end along with the punishments bestowed once they attempt to disobey (Benson and Stock, 16). In this case, the stars embody the universe that Romeo believes to control his fate. Aside from symbolism, aspects of foreshadowing also play a vital role in the process of fate. The Prologue is a perfect example of this literary device, where several lines provide a foreshadowing of the play’s resolution: “A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life;/Whose misadventured piteous overthrows/Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife./The fearful passage of their death-marked love”(Shakespeare, Prologue, 6-9). The lines did not necessarily give away the ending. Instead, it provides an insight into how the tale between two lovers may conclude a tragedy from their decisions made out of love. Another example includes Romeo’s prediction in Act 1 Scene 4, “I fear too early, for my mind misgives/Some consequence yet hanging in the stars/Shall bitterly begin his fearful date.” (Shakespeare, 1.4.113-115) The foreshadowing of Romeo correlates with the Prologue’s lines since he states an ominous feeling about his future. It thus becomes a vital detail to the story’s progression despite serving as a simple intuition. Overall, the literary devices and elements in place provide a clear perspective of their essence in portraying the theme’s influence on a love story.
With fate in its grandeur spotlight for impacting the story, it can also influence the perspective of its audience during the Elizabethan era. The overview of the story may focus on the rebellion against family values and traditions their culture upholds. Referring to the details of the marriage, Elizabethan women sustain a high expectation of betrothal at a young age, including their duty to oblige in any arranged marriages given (Best, n.d & Flores, 1997). With the story going against these values and traditions, it may provide positive and negative feedback towards the tragic result. Several acquire sympathetic reactions by reflecting upon the general feud between the Capulets and Montague, which played a role in Romeo and Juliet’s awaited tragedy. However, others may condemn the two lover’s choices of being naive and reckless with going against the values and traditions that they were destined to face. With both sides offering their arguments, it produces interesting debates regarding the importance of abiding by the fated path of cultural traditions or going against it.
Romeo and Juliet, With Modern Culture:
The enduring context of fate within contemporary culture exhibits similar features to works during the Renaissance period. Compared to the play's representation of fate by determining a character’s ending, fate in contemporary culture revolves around the feature of timing. Destined timing or coincidental events are applied to give romance in modern culture a view of things happening for a significant reason. For instance, when two main characters in a romantic movie first meet by spilling coffee in one’s jacket, it indicates that this encounter was spontaneous. However, the unexpected event holds a great foundation of love that will soon develop between both characters. This method of showing the features of fate is prominent in many aspects of contemporary culture. Although it does not necessarily involve spilling coffee on anyone, the idea of coincidental timing contributes to the overall perspective of the theme that endures throughout centuries.
Several examples in contemporary culture portray this theme within the field of entertainment. Sources like movies, songs, novels, or paintings exhibit similar features of the theme’s enduring concept. Two examples that will be analyzed further involve a film and a song from this present time. The movie “Letters to Juliet” (Gary Winick) and a song entitled “I Was Made for Loving You” (Tori Kelly and Ed Sheeran) both demonstrate the significant involvement of fate through their creations.
The movie contains a story about a newsletter employee named Sophie, who went on a pre-honeymoon with her fiance in Verona. During her trip, she deviates by finding an organization named “Juliet’s Secretaries.” Inspired by their occupation, she participates in their activities and responds to an old letter dated more than 50 years ago. The letter explains of a heartbroken woman who left his true love in Verona to accomplish her dreams. When she sends a message to respond, she receives a response from an older woman named Claire, who claims to be the owner of the letter. As she visits Verona to meet Sophie, they go on a journey to find the long-lost love that Claire desires to reunite once again (Winick, 2010). The representation of the theme through Sophie’s mission consists of the coincidental timing between her pre-honeymoon trip and Claire’s love letter.
If Sophie had not voyaged to the tourist attraction of love letters and found Juliet’s secretaries, she would not have found Claire’s letter and begun a journey that changed her perspective on true love. As the contribution of timing presents a crucial role in Sophie’s life, a correlation occurs in both the contemporary and original representations. As Sophie and Claire faced their fate to set different worlds together and fix a long-lost love story, they decided to give up the search. However, on their way to the airport, they found a private winery nearby that they chose to explore. Little did they know, that this winery’s owner happened to be the long-lost Lorenzo that Claire searched for her whole life (Winick, 2010). The capabilities of fate also happened in Shakespeare’s play but resulted in a more tragic ending. When Juliet drank a sleeping potion to fake her death, the letter containing the truth of Juliet’s intentions failed to reach Romeo. Instead, he received news from Balthasar that Juliet died, not knowing of a letter meant to clarify the situation (Shakespeare, 5.1.13-27, 5.2.13-22). Although the results of both stories seem to go in different routes, fate produces an impact on the character’s development and the story’s progression.
Another example consists of a song that speaks of destiny. Tori Kelly’s song entitled I Was Made for Loving You offers the theme’s interpretation, demonstrating the significance of fate in finding true love. The composition places itself from the perspective of two lovers, who find themselves drawn to each other. Afraid of the unknown journey of their passion, they place their faith in being destined for one another due to the love they believe is real. The chorus interprets this idea through the following:
“I was made for loving you
Even though we may be hopeless hearts just passing through
Every bone screaming I don't know what we should do
All I know is, darling, I was made for loving you” (Kelly, 2015)
The lines indicate an impulsive decision to love one another due to fate being their motivation. Despite the uncertainty they express in the third line, they decided to risk that doubt all for the simple intuition of being fated for each other. The song’s context of fate may correlate with Shakespeare’s perspective in Romeo and Juliet. Examples of these lines include Juliet’s statement in Act 2 Scene 2:
“So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And, for thy name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself.” (Shakespeare, 2.2.48-52)
Juliet may indicate submission to her fate with Romeo by disregarding his reputation as a Montague. She explains how, with or without the knowledge of his family, Juliet still urges to submit her passion. By doing this, she allows herself to follow the fated path of loving a Montague along with the awaited tragedy she faces at the end. The similarities between the original and contemporary representation offer the enduring concept of fate throughout centuries. Therefore, it displays the theme’s prevailing influence in many generations of stories that revolve around the idea of meeting one’s destined resolution.
Conclusion:
The idea of being destined for something and someone would seem both beneficial and discouraging. And with Shakespeare’s works demonstrating this concept of fate, it provide a broader perspective of how this inevitable phenomenon impacts one’s outlook of life. The enduring theme within Romeo and Juliet offered essential details of inevitability and its influence on the two lovers’ destined tragedy. Not only did the original representation apply to the characteristics of the theme, but also contemporary examples that passed down similar aspects for the new generation to perceive.
Along with the play’s demonstration, the background history of the Elizabethan culture offered connections between the culture Shakespeare lives by and the story that was influenced by his perception of destiny. It becomes evident how Romeo and Juliet offered its audience an insight into facing a predetermined resolution and the inevitable triumph and consequences that follow. Fate thus becomes an influential factor in the play’s tragic love story together with its preserving impact for many generations of audiences to know the idea of being set to live a particular life, for a significant purpose.
Citations & References:
A Changing View of the Universe: Philosophy and Science in the Elizabethan Era." Elizabethan World Reference Library, edited by Sonia G. Benson and Jennifer York Stock, vol. 1: Almanac, UXL, 2007, pp. 123-140. Gale In Context: World History, https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/apps/doc/CX2587000018/WHIC?u=nhc_main&sid=WHIC&xid=76ad54a5. Accessed 25 Sept. 2019.
“FATE: Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary.” Cambridge Dictionary, Cambridge University Press, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/fate.
Best, Michael. "The age of marriage." Shakespeare's Life and Times. Internet Shakespeare Editions. University of Victoria, NaN undefined NaN. Web. 3 Oct. 2019. <https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/SLT/society/family/marriage.html>.
Flores, Stephan. “Shakespeare's World/Stage.” English 345.01, Shakespeare Fall 1997, University of Idaho, https://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~sflores/345world.html. Accessed 17 September 2019.
Folger Shakespeare Library. Romeo and Juliet from Folger Digital Texts. Ed. Barbara Mowat, Paul Werstine, Michael Poston, and Rebecca Niles. Folger Shakespeare Library, 20 September, 2019. www.folgerdigitaltexts.org.
Folger Shakespeare Library. The Taming of the Shrew from Folger Digital Texts. Ed. Barbara Mowat, Paul Werstine, Michael Poston, and Rebecca Niles. Folger Shakespeare Library, 20 September, 2019. www.folgerdigitaltexts.org
Letters to Juliet. Directed by Gary Winick, Summit Entertainment, 25 April. 2010.
Kelly, Tori & Sheeran, Ed. “I Was Made for Loving You.”Unbreakable Smile, Capitol Records and Schoolboy Records, 2015, track 7, Genuis, https://genius.com/Tori-kelly-i-was-made-for-loving-you-lyrics.
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